On the 74th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, people who lived through the attack share their stories.

On the 74th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, people who lived through the attack share their stories.

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 6:24 PM CST Dec 7, 2015

Hide TranscriptShow Transcript

WEBVTT IT SOLD OUT INSTANTLY. IT'S COMING BACK TO CELEBRATE THIS YEAR'S WORLD SERIES WIN. CREWS WILL START DELIVERING KEGS NEXT MONDAY. AND BOTTLES ON TUESDAY. KRIS: FLAGS IN MISSOURI AND KANSAS ARE AT HALF-STAFF IN HONOR OF PEARL HARBOR REMEMBERANCE DAY. TODAY MARKS 74 YEARS SINCE THE ATTACK. ON DECEMBER 7 1941 JAPAN'S NAVY AND AIR FORCE LAUNCHED A SURPRISE ATTACK TARGETING THE U.S. NAVY'S PACIFIC FLEET. MORE THAN 2400 AMERICANS DIED. THE U.S. LOST HALF IT'S FLEET WITH 8 BATTLESHIPS DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. ON THIS ANNIVERSARY WE FIND WAYS TO HONOR REMAINING SURVIVORS OF THE ATTACK. KELLY: I JOINED SURVIVORS, VETERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS AT A SPECIAL EVENT IN PRAIRIE VILLAGE TODAY. THEY SHARED THE HORRIFIC MEMORIES OF THAT DAY. ONE OF THEM A CIVILIAN INSIDE PEARL HARBOR, JUST SIX-YEARS-OLD AT THE TIME. THE GATHERING, A TIME TO HONOR SURVIVORS, AND REMEMBER. 98-YEAR-OLD EDMUND RUSSELL WAS WITH THE ARMY AIR CORPS AT PEARL HARBOR. HE REMEMBERS THE DISBELIEF AND TERROR. AND LOOKED OUT AND COULD SEE THE SMOKE FROM THE BOMB. AND ABOUT THAT TIME THE 3RD BOMB WENT OFF AND THAT'S WHEN MY FEET SAID MOVE. WHEN I FIRST REALIZED THESE PLANES WERE DIVING THEY HAD THEIR CANOPIES OPEN. YOU COULD SEE THE GRIN ON THEIR FACE. THEY WERE THAT LOW. KELLY: ALSO SHARING MEMORIES OF THE BOMBING DORINDA NICHOLSON OF KANSAS CITY, SHE WAS SIX-YEARS-OLD -LIVING INSIDE PEARL HARBOR DURING THE SURPRISE ATTACK. SHE SAW IT FROM HER BACKYARD. AND WE LOOKED UP AND JUST BARELY ABOVE OUR HOUSE BARELY ABOVE THE TREETOPS WERE THE TORPEDO PLANES AND THEY WERE ON THEIR FINAL DECEN. KELLY: NICHOLSON HAS WRITTEN A BOOK CALLED PEARL HARBOR CHILD. SHE OFTEN SHARES IT WITH TODAY'S YOUNG PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO HAVE A HARD TIME GRASPING THE REALITY OF HER CHILDHOOD. I GREW UP WHERE I HAD BOMB SHELTERS ON MY PLAYGROUND. INVASION MONEY IN MY POCKET , AND I HAD AIR RAID DRILLS AND I CARRIED A GAS MASK. KELLY: NICHOLSON TOLD ME SHE THINKS HER STORY HELPS STUDENTS APPRECIATE THEIR LIVES, BUT ALSO UNDERSTAND THE EVENTS OF PEARL HARBOR ARE A PART OF THEIR

Survivors share Pearl Harbor stories on anniversary

On the 74th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, people who lived through the attack share their stories.